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| 2019 Regular Season Finale Chippewas vs. Toledo Rockets |
Athletic Director Michael Alford replaced Bonamego with Jim McElwain, wide receivers coach at Michigan and former head coach at Florida. Coming off a 1-win season, the conference media poll had Central tabbed for dead last in the MAC West. However, the Chippewas were surprisingly competitive as the season progressed. Except for a 61-0 loss to #6 Wisconsin early in the year, CMU was in most of their games, including a near upset of Miami (Florida).
Central dropped to 2-3 after a Week 5 loss to Western Michigan in Kalamazoo. After that, the Chippewas got hot, winning 6 of their final 7 games, including a thrilling come-from-behind win at Ball State. A Western Michigan loss to a mediocre Northern Illinois vaulted Central into the driver's seat for the MAC West Title. Needing a victory over Toledo in the last game of the season to capture the division, the Chippewas demolished the Rockets, 49-7, to not only win the division, but get their first victory over Toledo in 9 seasons. Central would fall in the MAC Championship game, 26-21, to Miami (Ohio), then lose to San Diego State, 48-11, in the New Mexico Bowl.
Despite the disappointing end to the season, jumping from 1-11 to 8-4 in one season is an impressive feat, and Coach McElwain was the easy choice for MAC Coach of the Year, the first CMU head coach to win that honor since Dick Flynn in 1994.
Central Michigan averaged 30.4 points per game in 2019 (54th in the nation). This was double the amount of points they scored in 2018, when they finished 128th overall. Quinten Dormady, a 6'5" senior from Bourne, Texas, solidified the passing game, throwing for 2,312 yards, 14 touchdowns and 9 interceptions (no QB passed for 1,000 in 2018). Backup David Moore passed for 1,143 yards, 5 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. The Chippewas had a pair of 1,000 yard rushers in Jonathan Ward and Kobe Lewis. Ward rushed for 1,108 yards and 15 touchdowns on 183 attempts, while Lewis ran for 1,074 yards and 12 touchdowns. In comparison, 2018 had no player over 500 yards on the ground. Kalil Pimpleton led the team in receiving with 894 yards and 6 touchdowns on 82 receptions. Next up was JaCorey Sullivan, who had 808 yards and 3 touchdowns on 57 receptions.
2019's defense was somewhat similar to 2018's defense. The 2019 edition allowed an average of 28.3 points per game (73rd in the nation), whereas 2018 allowed 27.3 (72nd in the nation). The blowout losses to Wisconsin and San Diego State and the shootout vs. Ball State didn't help the 2019 average. Troy Brown led the team with 89 tackles and 17.5 for a loss, along with 3 interceptions. LaQuan Johnson led the defense with 6.0 sacks.
This is the first CMU football game I have gone to in several years, and it was a good one. It was on Black Friday, and since everyone else was busy that day, I decided to check out the game. The crowd was pretty small that day (Black Friday plus a holiday weekend) but it wasn't too chilly. Plus, I saw some friends from Kingston there too, so it was all good.
This is a 68-page program, all in color and about the same size as the 1981 media guide. Coach McElwain is featured on page 11, while his coaching staff is featured on pages 12-18. Color pictures of each player are on pages 21-28 and 32 while the numerical roster is on 29. The Chippewa Champions Center is profiled on pages 30-31. The Rockets are profiled on page 36. The marching band and color guard have photos on page 42, while the fight songs are on page 43.
Local advertisements include The Morning Sun, CMU Bookstore, Graff Mt. Pleasant, Fabiano Brothers and Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort.
References:
"2019 Central Michigan Chippewas Stats", from Sports-Reference.com
"2018 Central Michigan Chippewas Stats", from Sports-Reference.com
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